0:00:02 > 0:00:03Wallpaper.
0:00:03 > 0:00:08So ordinary, so trivial, it might seem barely worth talking about,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and yet, for hundreds of years, it's been part our lives.
0:00:12 > 0:00:16In its time, wallpaper has been anything but ordinary.
0:00:16 > 0:00:18It's been at the height of luxury.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It's aroused disgust.
0:00:21 > 0:00:23It's caused moral outrage.
0:00:23 > 0:00:26And, at one stage, it even threatened to poison us.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28The history of wallpaper
0:00:28 > 0:00:31is a much more eventful one than you might think.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Only a handful of British designers and makers of wallpaper
0:00:35 > 0:00:37have become household names.
0:00:37 > 0:00:39Most have been unknown.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43But the patterns they created have had a deep effect on us.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46Whether it's made by hand...
0:00:49 > 0:00:51..or by machine,
0:00:51 > 0:00:56wallpaper has broadcast our tastes and aspirations to the world.
0:00:57 > 0:01:01For all these reasons, wallpaper is more than just a background.
0:01:01 > 0:01:04It's part of the fabric of our lives.
0:01:17 > 0:01:21Most of what we know about early wallpaper has had to be discovered
0:01:21 > 0:01:24from pieces tucked away behind skirting boards,
0:01:24 > 0:01:26lost under floorboards and hidden in attics.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30The history of wallpaper has literally been pieced together
0:01:30 > 0:01:32from fragments.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37Now, there's been an intriguing find in a National Trust property
0:01:37 > 0:01:41built in 1720, here on North Brink in Wisbech.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44The building's currently not much to look at.
0:01:44 > 0:01:48It's being restored, which is how an important lost piece
0:01:48 > 0:01:51of wallpaper history has been revealed.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57So what are we looking at here?
0:01:57 > 0:02:02This is an amazingly rare survivor from the 1720s,
0:02:02 > 0:02:04when the house was built.
0:02:04 > 0:02:07Gosh, that little section? So the owner of this house, back in 1720,
0:02:07 > 0:02:12when this was on the wall, would have been a wealthy merchant?
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Just to own the house, he'd have to be pretty wealthy.
0:02:15 > 0:02:18- So that was the height of fashion? - It certainly was in this household.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Another little fragment has survived here.
0:02:22 > 0:02:25It's survived only because it was covered by a dado rail here.
0:02:25 > 0:02:27And skirting there.
0:02:27 > 0:02:29And a skirting there.
0:02:29 > 0:02:30So, is this quite rare?
0:02:30 > 0:02:35Yeah. I got very excited when someone sent me a photograph
0:02:35 > 0:02:37and I saw it come up on the screen.
0:02:37 > 0:02:39I thought, "That looks pretty good."
0:02:39 > 0:02:44I always refer to wallpaper that's been taken off the wall as dead wallpaper.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46This is live. It might not look live
0:02:46 > 0:02:50but this is live wallpaper here, just hanging on.
0:02:51 > 0:02:56Andrew needs to remove this rare fragment from its vulnerable position,
0:02:56 > 0:02:57so it can be preserved.
0:02:59 > 0:03:03He's been able to pinpoint its early 18th century date
0:03:03 > 0:03:06from the architectural context and the printing techniques.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12I was impressed with that.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Well, 30 years' training, it doesn't get any better than that.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18Beautiful.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22Now, having it off the wall in my hands, I can see the weight of the paper.
0:03:22 > 0:03:24It's quite a stout paper,
0:03:24 > 0:03:28and it really gives an idea of the order of printing.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31First the pinky-red would have been block printed,
0:03:31 > 0:03:33and then the white on top of that.
0:03:33 > 0:03:38And then the black outline from a wooden block again on top.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42And then, finally, the areas of green would have been produced
0:03:42 > 0:03:44with the aid of a stencil and a brush.
0:03:44 > 0:03:46That's very good.
0:03:46 > 0:03:49We've got some other pieces in the cupboard
0:03:49 > 0:03:53which will then allow us to piece together the whole design,
0:03:53 > 0:03:57even though we have a relatively small area in terms of paper.
0:03:57 > 0:04:00And I've had a go.
0:04:00 > 0:04:05This piece I'm holding in my hand is that little section there.
0:04:05 > 0:04:09The floral design being the dominant feature,
0:04:09 > 0:04:12- but then these two vase shapes. - I can see.
0:04:12 > 0:04:16I think that was probably repeated from ceiling to floor.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Isn't that nice? What a lovely pattern.
0:04:19 > 0:04:24So, available in your local wallpaper shop perhaps in a few months' time.
0:04:24 > 0:04:29A piece of wallpaper from the early 18th century is a precious find
0:04:29 > 0:04:33but the story of wallpaper in Britain begins even earlier.
0:04:33 > 0:04:35Back in the 16th century.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41Simple black-and-white printed paper sheets were sold by stationers
0:04:41 > 0:04:45for lining boxes, like we might line drawers today.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50But at some point in the 1500s, people started taking them
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and sticking them to their walls.
0:04:52 > 0:04:57Anthony Wells-Cole has studied some surviving examples.
0:04:57 > 0:05:02Here we have a single-sheet decorative paper of a kind
0:05:02 > 0:05:06which was printed by stationers in black on white.
0:05:06 > 0:05:12As you can see, the pattern is complete on the single paper sheet
0:05:12 > 0:05:17but it's printed with a simple decorative border all the way round.
0:05:17 > 0:05:22And this is how you generally find them pasted inside document boxes.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28But you could actually, by trimming one side and either top or bottom,
0:05:28 > 0:05:33then get the pattern to repeat both horizontally like that
0:05:33 > 0:05:37and vertically like that.
0:05:37 > 0:05:40The repeat works perfectly well.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43So this is really the moment at which these decorative papers
0:05:43 > 0:05:47first begin to be used for the decoration
0:05:47 > 0:05:49of something bigger than document boxes -
0:05:49 > 0:05:52hung on the walls of a house.
0:05:53 > 0:05:57In the late 17th century, these multi-purpose printed sheets
0:05:57 > 0:06:01grew in popularity, soon becoming specially made papers for walls,
0:06:01 > 0:06:03known as "paper hangings".
0:06:03 > 0:06:07Most were designed to imitate textiles - the silk damasks,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11tapestries and embroideries hung on the walls of the rich -
0:06:11 > 0:06:13and they were bought by merchants
0:06:13 > 0:06:16keen to ape the decor of the aristocracy.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20By the 18th century, wallpaper was being made
0:06:20 > 0:06:22by specialist "paper stainers".
0:06:22 > 0:06:25We don't know much about the people who practised this trade
0:06:25 > 0:06:28but they have left us with a few clues.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32Luckily enough, we do have a link to the wallpaper-makers from the past
0:06:32 > 0:06:36through these - trade cards - small advertising cards for wallpaper.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40They give us a pretty good idea of the designs that were available
0:06:40 > 0:06:42and what inspired those designs.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45I particularly like this one because there's so much going on.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48This dates from 1715, a company based in London,
0:06:48 > 0:06:53the Blue Paper Manufacturer - Abraham Price the proprietor.
0:06:53 > 0:06:54Instantly it says,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57"This is what's happening - this is the latest fashion."
0:06:57 > 0:07:02They could imitate anything from Irish stitch, flower'd sprigs and branches,
0:07:02 > 0:07:06others yard-wide in imitation of marble fit for the hangings
0:07:06 > 0:07:10of parlours, dining rooms and staircases.
0:07:10 > 0:07:14It's got little images of the wallpaper being block printed.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16It's also got a suggestion of Irish stitch
0:07:16 > 0:07:19hanging down one side of this window.
0:07:19 > 0:07:23And you could have wallpaper mimicking and imitating
0:07:23 > 0:07:25anything you wanted.
0:07:25 > 0:07:27So there you are, look.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30Wallpaper is always trying to look like something else.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34But not all imitations were cheap.
0:07:34 > 0:07:38In the early 18th century, wallpaper began to go upmarket.
0:07:38 > 0:07:43The most prized wallpaper was flock, with a raised, furry design
0:07:43 > 0:07:45which looked like cloth.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49It was even considered suitable for the grandest of houses,
0:07:49 > 0:07:52like Clandon Park, built in the 1720s.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59These days, flock wallpaper tends to have a rather dubious reputation
0:07:59 > 0:08:02but back in the early part of the 18th century,
0:08:02 > 0:08:05it was considered the most elite of wallpaper.
0:08:05 > 0:08:07Now, this room is a rare survival.
0:08:07 > 0:08:12This rich red flock was hung around 1730, and survived because
0:08:12 > 0:08:16it was later hidden away under green silk hangings.
0:08:16 > 0:08:19Flock like this was designed to copy
0:08:19 > 0:08:22one of the most expensive wall decorations of the day -
0:08:22 > 0:08:25rich hangings of silk velvet.
0:08:25 > 0:08:28And it is surprisingly effective.
0:08:28 > 0:08:33And although flock is significantly cheaper than the silks it copied,
0:08:33 > 0:08:35nevertheless, it was considered grand enough
0:08:35 > 0:08:39for a baron to stick up on the walls.
0:08:40 > 0:08:43In fact, 18th century British-made flock wallpaper
0:08:43 > 0:08:46became the envy of the world.
0:08:46 > 0:08:48It was even exported to France,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52where it was so fashionable, people took down their priceless tapestries
0:08:52 > 0:08:55to put up flock wallpaper instead.
0:08:55 > 0:08:58This sudden elevation in status was made possible
0:08:58 > 0:09:00by one vital British innovation.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03A revolution in wallpaper printing - the roll.
0:09:03 > 0:09:07Allyson McDermott is an expert on historic wallpaper,
0:09:07 > 0:09:10who can show me how flock is made.
0:09:10 > 0:09:12It starts with putting the background colour
0:09:12 > 0:09:15on that all-important roll of paper.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18So we're going to have a go at making 18th century wallpaper.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21How was the paper originally joined together to make rolls?
0:09:21 > 0:09:24Well, it was just single sheets,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27and when they first started using wallpapers in the 17th century,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30they just applied it on the wall in sheets.
0:09:30 > 0:09:33But as the patterns got bigger and bigger
0:09:33 > 0:09:36to imitate silks and damasks, they came up with the clever idea
0:09:36 > 0:09:39of joining it, which they would do by...
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- pasting up along there with animal glue...- Just overlapping.
0:09:43 > 0:09:46..overlapping it like that, and then pounding it.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50And so, when it's joined, it looks something like that.
0:09:50 > 0:09:53- And there you go, a roll of paper. - Exactly.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57- The width hasn't really changed that much, has it?- It hasn't.
0:09:57 > 0:10:00That's why it's very useful when you're trying to recreate a design
0:10:00 > 0:10:04from little fragments you've found, because it was always 21 inches.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08So you've prepared this with a ground already, haven't you?
0:10:08 > 0:10:11There's one coat of distemper ground,
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and this is a very complicated colour
0:10:13 > 0:10:16- because you need to get a really, really rich red colour.- OK.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20So you have to lay four layers, starting with that,
0:10:20 > 0:10:23then we're going to do a rich terracotta,
0:10:23 > 0:10:26- then we'll do two layers of crimson over that.- Wow.
0:10:26 > 0:10:28And then a crimson varnish, so you get a real sheen.
0:10:28 > 0:10:32- You really are building up a foundation before you can start to print.- Exactly.
0:10:32 > 0:10:34- Unusual looking brushes.- Yes.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38We had them copied from 18th century designs for brushes.
0:10:38 > 0:10:41And they are super. They give a wonderful textural quality.
0:10:41 > 0:10:44- Why are they round? - Well, you'll find out.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46OK, come on, then. Show me.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53- One for you.- Do you want me to work in circles like this?- Yes.
0:10:56 > 0:11:00You almost stroke it on. It's quite a sensual experience.
0:11:00 > 0:11:05- OK?- OK. Just keep grinding in? - Yes, go for it. Very gently.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- Is the idea to lose the swirling lines?- I don't think so, no,
0:11:11 > 0:11:14because that's how it looked in the 18th century
0:11:14 > 0:11:16so that's what we're trying to achieve -
0:11:16 > 0:11:20an authentic facsimile copy, which has all those wonderful textural qualities.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22- So it's historically correct. - Exactly.
0:11:27 > 0:11:30That's absolutely brilliant.
0:11:31 > 0:11:34It's all about the amount of pressure you put on,
0:11:34 > 0:11:37and if you can get it nice and even like that, that's really good.
0:11:37 > 0:11:40- Is that OK?- That's brilliant.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44You can see the paper starting to undulate, can't you?
0:11:44 > 0:11:47You can imagine how difficult it is to hang.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50As soon as you wet the back and put paste on, it's all over the place,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53- so it takes a real specialist to do it.- I enjoyed that.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00The wallpaper is printed using wooden blocks
0:12:00 > 0:12:02with the pattern carved in relief.
0:12:02 > 0:12:05The great advantage of those long rolls of paper
0:12:05 > 0:12:07becomes clear at this stage.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Rather than having to fit the whole repeat pattern onto a single sheet,
0:12:11 > 0:12:16patterns can be as long as you like, suitable for the grandest rooms.
0:12:16 > 0:12:21In this case, Allyson's printer Den is using two different blocks.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29Pop that one on there and the other goes on the line.
0:12:29 > 0:12:30OK.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33By carefully aligning them,
0:12:33 > 0:12:36the pattern could repeat seamlessly along the roll.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39We're using a special slow-drying paint -
0:12:39 > 0:12:41a vital ingredient for flock wallpaper.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43Not bad at all.
0:12:43 > 0:12:47- Quite a frightening process to start with.- It is. Absolutely terrifying.
0:12:48 > 0:12:54You're now painting in the bits that are missing.
0:12:54 > 0:12:56I'm retouching, yes.
0:12:56 > 0:13:00Back in the 18th century, this is exactly what would have happened once the block was printed.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03- Someone would be here touching it.- Yes.
0:13:03 > 0:13:07Are you going to be really fussy and do every single little hole?
0:13:07 > 0:13:09- Yes.- You do? Right, OK.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13We do, yes, we do. We like it to be perfect.
0:13:13 > 0:13:17- What's going to happen to it now? - Now we lift it very carefully
0:13:17 > 0:13:19and we'll take it into the flocking room.
0:13:19 > 0:13:21That has to be in a separate area
0:13:21 > 0:13:24because the flock can get everywhere.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26We put it in a sealed box.
0:13:26 > 0:13:29In the 18th and early 19th century, it did get everywhere.
0:13:29 > 0:13:33- Do we have to let that dry first? - No. It goes in exactly as it is.
0:13:33 > 0:13:35- The stickier the better.- Right, OK.
0:13:39 > 0:13:43Right, we'll pop it straight in the box.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50- What's next, Allyson? - Ladle some of the flock on.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53This is just... What is this? Chopped-up wool?
0:13:53 > 0:13:57- It is chopped-up wool, exactly that. - How do you chop that up so fine?
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Unfortunately, it's very difficult to find anybody to do this any more.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05This particular batch was made by a completely mad friend of mine
0:14:05 > 0:14:08who used a very sharp rotary lawn mower,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11- which he operated with a bicycle. - Really?
0:14:11 > 0:14:14How was this traditionally done? That does sound bonkers.
0:14:14 > 0:14:18They did have flock-cutting boxes with very sharp blades in
0:14:18 > 0:14:20and they would chop away at it.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23So what do I do? Sprinkle it on the top?
0:14:23 > 0:14:25Yes, just spread it over.
0:14:25 > 0:14:29In the 18th century, they would cut flock by hand
0:14:29 > 0:14:33so it's very uneven and quite long.
0:14:33 > 0:14:37It gives it a hairy effect, which is typical of the 18th century.
0:14:37 > 0:14:4119th century flock tended to be ground in mills
0:14:41 > 0:14:42so it's a much finer flock
0:14:42 > 0:14:47and it's more like the effect of sand on the surface.
0:14:50 > 0:14:52Right, OK, next stage.
0:14:52 > 0:14:54- Lid down?- Lid down.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58- Did you make this up yourself? - We did.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03- Right, now bang the bottom. - After you.
0:15:11 > 0:15:13That should do it.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17Right, can we open the box?
0:15:17 > 0:15:19We can open the box.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37I think that's fantastic. I think that's very good.
0:15:37 > 0:15:41It's stuck well. It's stuck really well.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43Are you happy with that?
0:15:43 > 0:15:45I am. I think that's pretty good.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49- Picks up the light, doesn't it? - Which is what it was intended to do
0:15:49 > 0:15:51because, of course, in the 18th century,
0:15:51 > 0:15:54it was designed to imitate silk damasks.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56You get that lovely shimmering effect.
0:15:56 > 0:16:01You get the matt effect of the flock and the sheen of the background.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04Yes, that's lovely. Well done.
0:16:04 > 0:16:05What a fascinating process.
0:16:07 > 0:16:12The skill involved in making flock wallpaper ensured that it remained
0:16:12 > 0:16:13a desirable luxury.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16But in the middle of the 18th century,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19an exotic new introduction from China
0:16:19 > 0:16:22raised wallpaper to even greater heights.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26Chinese wallpaper was hand-painted in incredible detail,
0:16:26 > 0:16:28making each sheet a work of art.
0:16:29 > 0:16:32This example was presented to Thomas Coutts,
0:16:32 > 0:16:36owner of Coutts Bank, in 1794.
0:16:36 > 0:16:40Today it's being restored, so it's possible to get a closer look.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44Chinese wallpaper was hand-painted with beautiful, exotic scenes.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Each sheet was different and incredible detailed.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51This was an expensive luxury and it was hard to come by.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53Now, for the first time,
0:16:53 > 0:16:55we had a wallpaper that was treasured in its own right,
0:16:55 > 0:16:58and not just an imitation of something else.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00By the end of the 18th century,
0:17:00 > 0:17:03pretty much every great country house in Britain
0:17:03 > 0:17:05had a room full of Chinese wallpaper.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11Wallpaper was no longer the poor relation.
0:17:11 > 0:17:14The British manufacturers were quick to respond.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17They produced their own printed Chinese designs
0:17:17 > 0:17:19which took their place alongside
0:17:19 > 0:17:22the ever-growing range of wallpapers produced.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26Florals, geometric patterns,
0:17:26 > 0:17:30gothic architecture, patterns imitating lace,
0:17:30 > 0:17:32striped silk dress fabrics,
0:17:32 > 0:17:36all designed to look like prints pasted to a wall.
0:17:36 > 0:17:38You might have thought that all this choice
0:17:38 > 0:17:41would have thrilled 18th century consumers,
0:17:41 > 0:17:44but for a growing middle class keen to get things right,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47it seems to have been a bit of a worry.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51Amanda Vickery has been studying a book of letters sent by customers
0:17:51 > 0:17:55to a London decorating firm called Trollope & Sons.
0:17:55 > 0:17:59What comes out of the letter books for me is this search for,
0:17:59 > 0:18:03kind of, safety and getting it right and not getting it wrong.
0:18:03 > 0:18:06- So there was a lot of social anxiety back then?- Definitely.
0:18:06 > 0:18:10But this is a letter which, I think, er... You get some little
0:18:10 > 0:18:14sense of that, the anxieties of the consumer, and trying to winkle out
0:18:14 > 0:18:17of Trollope & Co what they think would be the right thing to do.
0:18:17 > 0:18:21"Mrs Burt of West Malling is asking for advice
0:18:21 > 0:18:24"about the paper that she has put up.
0:18:24 > 0:18:29"Mrs Burt does not know if the one she has chosen is very fashionable
0:18:29 > 0:18:34"and begs Mr Trollope will send her word whether it is usual
0:18:34 > 0:18:38"to cut out the borders as formally or whether it is now the custom
0:18:38 > 0:18:42"to leave the edge and, for satisfaction, whether it is tolerably new."
0:18:42 > 0:18:46- Right, that's interesting. - She wants his reassurance.
0:18:46 > 0:18:50She wants to be told... I don't think she wants to be at the cutting edge of fashion.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53She doesn't want to be streaking ahead of the pack,
0:18:53 > 0:18:57- she just wants to be in the ball park.- Safe. Comfortable.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Safe, but fashionable.
0:18:59 > 0:19:03Sometimes, when people talk about the consumer revolution of the 18th century,
0:19:03 > 0:19:08you get this idea of unbridled shopping and hedonism.
0:19:08 > 0:19:13In fact, what I find is something much more constipated, really.
0:19:13 > 0:19:15Something much more rule-bound
0:19:15 > 0:19:17and full of, "What is the right thing to do?
0:19:17 > 0:19:21- "Everybody says I should have good taste. What on earth...?" - "..IS good taste?"
0:19:21 > 0:19:24They are very preoccupied with that.
0:19:24 > 0:19:27This is written in 1799 - August 1799.
0:19:27 > 0:19:31The person writing this letter has seen some wallpaper
0:19:31 > 0:19:32in the house of a friend,
0:19:32 > 0:19:36so it gives you this idea of keeping up appearances.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39"I saw the other day, at our friend Mr Pageau's,
0:19:39 > 0:19:43"some very pretty papers your man was putting up."
0:19:43 > 0:19:45So, already he's glimpsed them on a visit.
0:19:45 > 0:19:49"I am in want of a paper for a very small room,
0:19:49 > 0:19:52"which must be papered immediately.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"I care nothing about fashion if they are neat and clean."
0:19:55 > 0:19:57That's typical of a man, isn't it?
0:19:57 > 0:20:01Well, does he really care nothing about fashion?
0:20:01 > 0:20:05- That's the question, because they've seen something...- That he likes.
0:20:05 > 0:20:09Yes. And also, neat and clean are themselves concepts
0:20:09 > 0:20:11which are fashionable.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14"Neat", in the late 18th century,
0:20:14 > 0:20:18means a spare, pared-down elegance.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21It means well put together, not showy,
0:20:21 > 0:20:25not drawing attention to itself, but still chic.
0:20:25 > 0:20:29Where else are you going to get colour from in dank, old Albion?
0:20:29 > 0:20:32Well, this would be it.
0:20:32 > 0:20:34And green - they love green.
0:20:34 > 0:20:37Nobody would ever criticise you for green.
0:20:37 > 0:20:39I have to say, in the Trollope letter books,
0:20:39 > 0:20:43green is the colour that's requested more than anything else.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47I think you can unpack a whole world of taste
0:20:47 > 0:20:49from a letter like that.
0:20:50 > 0:20:55So it's clear consumers worried about wallpaper being too gaudy,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58too fashionable or not fashionable enough.
0:20:58 > 0:21:00But what were they actually choosing?
0:21:00 > 0:21:04This 19th century order book from Cowtan & Sons,
0:21:04 > 0:21:07beginning in 1824, is the earliest to provide samples
0:21:07 > 0:21:10of the wallpapers customers selected.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12Gill Saunders has been examining it.
0:21:12 > 0:21:17Page by page, you get details of the customer.
0:21:17 > 0:21:22Here, for example, we have Mr William Smith of 13 Sussex Place,
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Regent's Park,
0:21:24 > 0:21:28and he is ordering a number of wallpapers
0:21:28 > 0:21:31on May 20th, 1825.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34Here is a rather attractive pink pattern,
0:21:34 > 0:21:36which he chose for a bedroom.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39And then a rather simpler pattern -
0:21:39 > 0:21:42little stars on a buff-coloured ground,
0:21:42 > 0:21:48which he ordered for a number of rooms just described here as attics.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51It's interesting that you do have this information,
0:21:51 > 0:21:53this indication, quite often,
0:21:53 > 0:21:57that a paper is chosen for a particular space.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01But sometimes, the book confounds our expectations.
0:22:01 > 0:22:06The papers we expect for bedrooms - light colours, simple patterns -
0:22:06 > 0:22:10are not necessarily those which are chosen by the people
0:22:10 > 0:22:12who ordered from Cowtan & Co.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16They will often choose something we would think quite unsuitable.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20Something very boldly coloured, something with a large pattern.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Even if the vagaries of taste mean what they chose isn't always
0:22:25 > 0:22:27what we might view as tasteful today,
0:22:27 > 0:22:31one thing Cowtan's customers could be sure of
0:22:31 > 0:22:34was that they were decorating their walls luxuriously.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37Wallpaper was expensive. It was still made using wooden blocks,
0:22:37 > 0:22:40hand-printed onto paper rolls
0:22:40 > 0:22:43that had been glued together from individual sheets.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46But paper technology was changing.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49In the early 19th century, machines appeared
0:22:49 > 0:22:52that could make paper in long, continuous rolls.
0:22:52 > 0:22:56The old method of producing glued-together rolls of paper
0:22:56 > 0:23:02had a tendency to stretch or break when wet with ink or paste.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04And now, for the first time,
0:23:04 > 0:23:07paper could be made in wallpaper-friendly lengths.
0:23:08 > 0:23:11It was the first step towards mechanisation.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16In 1839, a steam-powered wallpaper printing machine was patented.
0:23:16 > 0:23:20Amazingly, very similar techniques are still used today,
0:23:20 > 0:23:22without the steam.
0:23:22 > 0:23:26Carl Ashby wants to show me his surface print machine.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29These machines are credited with being invented around 1839
0:23:29 > 0:23:32and they went through a very slow development process,
0:23:32 > 0:23:35up until about 1850, 1860.
0:23:35 > 0:23:39Due to certain technical advances, these machines suddenly blossomed
0:23:39 > 0:23:43into these wonderful, full-on, 12-colour, 18-colour, 20-colour machines.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46These particular machines date back to before 1920.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51- That's incredible. - They're no different to where they were in 1860, 1870.
0:23:51 > 0:23:55Talk me briefly how the whole thing works.
0:23:55 > 0:23:58This is the ink tray here. These are water-based inks.
0:23:58 > 0:24:00It's picked up by this blanket here.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03That can be a hard blanket, a soft blanket,
0:24:03 > 0:24:06and it will determine how much ink gets picked up.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09And then it will simply transfer it to the back of the print roller
0:24:09 > 0:24:13that sits against the paper that's on the outside of the large drum.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16It's almost like blot printing on a machine,
0:24:16 > 0:24:18and that's essentially what happened.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22They took a blot printing process and converted it to manufacturing.
0:24:22 > 0:24:24In the most sophisticated machines,
0:24:24 > 0:24:28up to 20 colours could be printed simultaneously,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31each colour in its tray with its own blanket and roller,
0:24:31 > 0:24:33printing wet ink on wet ink.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40At any one time, there's about 150 metres of paper, which is the equivalent of about 15 rolls.
0:24:40 > 0:24:43It takes it over the back of the machine, through the grinding process,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46before taking it back up into real form.
0:24:46 > 0:24:48How much can you print in a day here?
0:24:48 > 0:24:51On one of these machines, these are essentially
0:24:51 > 0:24:53one of the slower processes, really.
0:24:53 > 0:24:58These machines produce around 250 rolls in an hour so about 2,500 metres.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02And will these last another 100 years?
0:25:02 > 0:25:04Have you seen the thickness of the steel?
0:25:04 > 0:25:07- They will, won't they? - We hope so, yeah.
0:25:09 > 0:25:15With mechanisation, suddenly wallpaper was available to all but the very poor.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20In 1834, just over a million rolls of wallpaper
0:25:20 > 0:25:22had been printed by hand.
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Ten years after mechanisation, Britain produced 5.5 million rolls.
0:25:26 > 0:25:30And in 1874, 32 million rolls.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33A hand-printed paper might be 25 shillings a roll.
0:25:33 > 0:25:37Machine-made wallpaper cost as little as tuppence a roll.
0:25:37 > 0:25:39It was the age of cheap wallpaper.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48In Birmingham, there's a unique opportunity to see the paper
0:25:48 > 0:25:50ordinary households chose.
0:25:50 > 0:25:54These houses, build around a courtyard, are known as "back-to-backs".
0:25:54 > 0:25:58From the middle of the 19th century, they were rented to craftsmen
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and their families, living in cramped conditions.
0:26:01 > 0:26:05As soon as wallpaper was cheaply available, it was used here,
0:26:05 > 0:26:10and layer upon layer has survived, up to 28 layers deep.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15I've come to meet the researcher who's been studying this wallpaper, Husnara Bibi.
0:26:16 > 0:26:20Back in 2002, when they started to restore the back-to-backs,
0:26:20 > 0:26:22the director of Birmingham Conservation Trust realised
0:26:22 > 0:26:26that there were a lot of layers of paper and something quite special.
0:26:26 > 0:26:29She decided to rescue as many pieces as she could.
0:26:29 > 0:26:32She went round with a black bin bag and put in as much as she could.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35Was there a lot of wallpaper discovered?
0:26:35 > 0:26:39Initially, when it was catalogued, there were about 60 patterns that were recognised.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42But after that, I think 142.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46That's an awful lot of paper, considering there's only around a dozen houses here.
0:26:46 > 0:26:49Yeah, 11 houses. The reason we think there were so many layers
0:26:49 > 0:26:52was because the walls were in really bad condition.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56If anybody took down some of the paper, the plaster would come off.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59People just preferred to paper over.
0:26:59 > 0:27:03Can we talk about some of the earliest wallpapers you found?
0:27:03 > 0:27:06The earliest bit we found is roughly 1850s.
0:27:06 > 0:27:08This is an example of that paper.
0:27:08 > 0:27:10You can see it would have been much brighter than this
0:27:10 > 0:27:14and, because the paper's so cheap and there's a lot of acidity,
0:27:14 > 0:27:16it's browned over time.
0:27:16 > 0:27:19I like this particular pattern. What can you tell me about this?
0:27:19 > 0:27:21This was obviously a darker red in its day.
0:27:21 > 0:27:26Yeah, it's faded a lot. It's from around 1870, that piece of paper.
0:27:26 > 0:27:30It's in a layer of about 28 and that's the 23 layer.
0:27:30 > 0:27:34Can you talk me through what you've got here? These smaller fragments.
0:27:34 > 0:27:37These were all from the same house, the same room, the same wall.
0:27:37 > 0:27:41- How many layers thick? - This one was about 21 layers thick.
0:27:41 > 0:27:45We've taken them apart by soaking them in water.
0:27:46 > 0:27:48Oh, that's nice.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51- That's bright. - It's quite a bold print, there.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55We have a lot of fragments, but you can tell they were really bold and bright patterns.
0:27:55 > 0:27:59When you're standing in these rooms, there's not an awful lot of daylight that comes through
0:27:59 > 0:28:02your one window here, is there?
0:28:02 > 0:28:06I mean, another reason why they were probably papering so often
0:28:06 > 0:28:10is because of the dirt in the houses and the dirt from industry
0:28:10 > 0:28:12and from the coal fires and oil lamps.
0:28:12 > 0:28:16The papers got so dirty so quickly, which is why they replaced it
0:28:16 > 0:28:20with bold and bright patterns which would take longer to age.
0:28:20 > 0:28:24For you, it's been like peeling back the layers of history, literally.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28It has. It's been really exciting to see what these working-class people
0:28:28 > 0:28:30would have actually used.
0:28:30 > 0:28:34We don't see very often what the everyday people would have used as decoration.
0:28:34 > 0:28:38And how they expressed their surroundings with different colours and different patterns
0:28:38 > 0:28:40and how they wanted to be cheered up.
0:28:40 > 0:28:43Definitely. A lot of cheering up needed, living in these houses.
0:28:45 > 0:28:49Thanks to mechanisation, almost anyone could transform
0:28:49 > 0:28:52their environment with bright, colourful wallpaper.
0:28:54 > 0:28:57And in 1851, this newly revitalised industry
0:28:57 > 0:29:02had a chance to declare itself to the world at the Great Exhibition -
0:29:02 > 0:29:05a giant trade fair housed in the Crystal Palace.
0:29:05 > 0:29:08But what was supposed to be a showcase
0:29:08 > 0:29:10turned into a minor disaster.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13Despite Britain leading the world in machine-printed wallpaper,
0:29:13 > 0:29:17the exhibits failed to impress.
0:29:17 > 0:29:20There were many marvellous wallpapers printed with
0:29:20 > 0:29:23a number of colours using machine printing,
0:29:23 > 0:29:26and they were marvellous technical achievements,
0:29:26 > 0:29:31but many commentators and critics who visited the Great Exhibition
0:29:31 > 0:29:34were appalled by the aesthetic quality of these papers,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37which tended to emphasise illusionistic patterns,
0:29:37 > 0:29:39pictorial patterns.
0:29:39 > 0:29:41Trompe l'oeil, and so on.
0:29:41 > 0:29:47Patterns which really were, as they felt, unsuited to flat surfaces.
0:29:48 > 0:29:51Then something extraordinary happened.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54A government department weighed in on the debate.
0:29:54 > 0:29:56They were so worried about dodgy British design,
0:29:56 > 0:29:59they commissioned the Inspector General for Art
0:29:59 > 0:30:02to write an official report on wallpaper.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06The conclusion was that manufacturers of machine-made papers
0:30:06 > 0:30:08obsessed about technical details
0:30:08 > 0:30:11when they ought to be improving public taste.
0:30:12 > 0:30:15There was a growing feeling in the arts establishment
0:30:15 > 0:30:19that British design had lost its way.
0:30:19 > 0:30:22Something had to be done.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25Now, this piece of paper is evidence
0:30:25 > 0:30:29of one rather dramatic attempt to try and turn things round.
0:30:29 > 0:30:32It was part of an exhibition set up in 1852,
0:30:32 > 0:30:34titled False Principles of Design.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37It was first shown at the Museum of Manufactures,
0:30:37 > 0:30:40which later become known as the Victoria and Albert Museum.
0:30:40 > 0:30:45The idea was to try and show the British public examples
0:30:45 > 0:30:48of utterly indefensible design.
0:30:48 > 0:30:49Bad taste, if you like.
0:30:49 > 0:30:53The exhibition featured a great deal of wallpaper.
0:30:53 > 0:30:56So what did they think was wrong with this example?
0:30:56 > 0:30:58Well, pretty much everything.
0:30:58 > 0:31:01For a start, it features objects inappropriate for a wall.
0:31:01 > 0:31:04Who ever saw a railway station on a wall, after all?
0:31:04 > 0:31:07The other exhibits showed similar flaws.
0:31:07 > 0:31:10Even this special Crystal Palace wallpaper,
0:31:10 > 0:31:12shown at the Great Exhibition itself.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16Too much realism, perspective and shading.
0:31:16 > 0:31:19Realistic floral motifs came in for criticism
0:31:19 > 0:31:23and imitations of fabric or stone were seen as deceitful.
0:31:25 > 0:31:30The leading inspiration behind the reformer's ideas was Augustus Pugin,
0:31:30 > 0:31:34one of the architects of the Houses of Parliament.
0:31:34 > 0:31:38Pugin was at the forefront of Victorian Gothic revival,
0:31:38 > 0:31:42but he was horrified by what passed for Gothic wallpaper.
0:31:42 > 0:31:46Realistic architectural features, arches and pinnacles
0:31:46 > 0:31:48stacked one on top of the other.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51Pugin thought this was absolutely dreadful.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53It was a falsification, of course,
0:31:53 > 0:31:56of the idea of a flat pattern for a flat surface,
0:31:56 > 0:32:01and so, in his own designs, he reacts very much against that
0:32:01 > 0:32:07kind of pictorial design using these flat geometric or heraldic motifs
0:32:07 > 0:32:10and flat areas of colour.
0:32:12 > 0:32:14Pugin's cutting-edge ideas
0:32:14 > 0:32:17were brought right to the heart of government
0:32:17 > 0:32:19when he set to work on the interiors
0:32:19 > 0:32:22of the Palace of Westminster in 1844.
0:32:22 > 0:32:26The dramatic Gothic decoration left nothing to chance.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Every detail according to his vision.
0:32:30 > 0:32:33This book is a wonderful treasure
0:32:33 > 0:32:38because it contains these small samples of almost all of the papers
0:32:38 > 0:32:41that Pugin designed for the Palace of Westminster.
0:32:41 > 0:32:45Here he is, true to his principles, using flat colours,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49simple motifs, but also, occasionally, elaborate papers,
0:32:49 > 0:32:51using gold and coloured flock.
0:32:51 > 0:32:55Here we have one paper with red flock,
0:32:55 > 0:32:57and another with red and green flock.
0:32:57 > 0:33:02100 different wallpaper designs were created
0:33:02 > 0:33:04to adorn formal spaces,
0:33:04 > 0:33:06committee rooms and even private apartments.
0:33:06 > 0:33:09Many of Pugin's original wallpapers
0:33:09 > 0:33:12were lost in the years to follow.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14But by the end of the 20th century
0:33:14 > 0:33:19people were taking a great interest in recreating Pugin's interiors -
0:33:19 > 0:33:22and a remarkable discovery was made.
0:33:25 > 0:33:28The wallpaper firm Cole & Son had amassed a collection
0:33:28 > 0:33:32of thousands of wood blocks from many different firms.
0:33:32 > 0:33:36And among them, Pugin's original wallpaper blocks still survived.
0:33:36 > 0:33:41So, today, it's possible to recreate many of Pugin's designs exactly,
0:33:41 > 0:33:43using the original blocks.
0:33:43 > 0:33:47I'm going to get to print a Pugin wallpaper myself
0:33:47 > 0:33:49with the help of printer Den Condon.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52- What do I do?- If you put your hand in from here...
0:33:52 > 0:33:55- Yeah.- ..like that.
0:33:55 > 0:33:57Bring it round and link it up.
0:33:58 > 0:34:02What's underneath here? That's felt, is it?
0:34:02 > 0:34:07Yes, it's a felt blanket which gives a nice even bed for the paint.
0:34:11 > 0:34:13- Just press down.- Push down.
0:34:13 > 0:34:16Not only are the blocks original, the printing table itself
0:34:16 > 0:34:19replicates a 19th century set-up
0:34:19 > 0:34:22with its counter-weight to help with the heavy lifting.
0:34:23 > 0:34:25On that little dot there.
0:34:25 > 0:34:27- Bring the one the other side. - Yeah, I've done it.
0:34:30 > 0:34:31There.
0:34:31 > 0:34:33Bring the arm over.
0:34:34 > 0:34:37- What does this do, then? - It gives you a lot more pressure.
0:34:43 > 0:34:44That's it.
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- Take it straight up.- Straight up? - Straight up.
0:34:51 > 0:34:52There we are.
0:34:53 > 0:34:56- Oh, that's not bad, is it? - Not bad at all. Very good.
0:34:56 > 0:35:00I'm happy with that and that's a good example of Pugin's work.
0:35:00 > 0:35:02- That design.- Yes.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Simple, flat, two-dimensional pattern,
0:35:05 > 0:35:07designed to look good on a flat piece of paper.
0:35:07 > 0:35:10But look at that for a lovely, old block.
0:35:10 > 0:35:14It's splitting in places, but that's, you know, given its age,
0:35:14 > 0:35:16and the fact it's splitting with the grain.
0:35:16 > 0:35:20- It's been screwed together in places to tighten it up. - It's not doing bad.
0:35:20 > 0:35:23It still looks fashionable today, what we've just done.
0:35:23 > 0:35:25It looks as good today as it did when it was first done.
0:35:27 > 0:35:31Pugin's wallpaper designs were considered too large and too bold
0:35:31 > 0:35:35for most domestic settings, but his approach was eagerly taken up
0:35:35 > 0:35:37by later generations of designers.
0:35:37 > 0:35:41In fact, the aesthetic of flat pattern, prizing workmanship
0:35:41 > 0:35:44and design over mechanical detail, was at the heart
0:35:44 > 0:35:48of what would become known as the Arts and Crafts movement.
0:35:48 > 0:35:51At the forefront of this design revolution was William Morris,
0:35:51 > 0:35:55and it was his wallpaper that spread his influence
0:35:55 > 0:35:57into many middle-class homes.
0:35:58 > 0:36:02Which brings me to 18 Stafford Terrace -
0:36:02 > 0:36:05home of Punch cartoonist Edward Linley Sambourne.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08In 1871, he set out to decorate this place
0:36:08 > 0:36:11with the latest fashions in artistic taste.
0:36:15 > 0:36:20When it comes to wallpaper, only one man would do - William Morris.
0:36:20 > 0:36:24There's an inventory that belongs to this house dating from 1877.
0:36:24 > 0:36:28It records Messrs Morris & Co supplying wallpapers
0:36:28 > 0:36:32to the entire house at a cost of £35 and five shillings.
0:36:32 > 0:36:36Now, here, in the morning room, the papers they chose
0:36:36 > 0:36:40were William Morris's most popular design - the Pomegranate pattern.
0:36:40 > 0:36:44And it's not just on the walls - it's on the ceilings, too.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48The fact that the original wallpaper is still here
0:36:48 > 0:36:51is testament to the success of Morris's designs.
0:36:51 > 0:36:54His dense, stylised patterns, based on nature,
0:36:54 > 0:36:58have barely been out of production since they were first made
0:36:58 > 0:37:00and the craft element has remained vital.
0:37:00 > 0:37:05No machinery here. Morris's designs were block printed and expensive.
0:37:05 > 0:37:08But the owner of this house had fickle tastes,
0:37:08 > 0:37:12which meant, sometimes, even the William Morris had to go.
0:37:12 > 0:37:16Up in the drawing room, the most important room in the house,
0:37:16 > 0:37:19Linley Sambourne's eye was caught by a new trend.
0:37:19 > 0:37:23Now, here's a good example of Edward Linley Sambourne's desire
0:37:23 > 0:37:25to keep his walls looking impressive.
0:37:25 > 0:37:27He did change things a bit
0:37:27 > 0:37:30and he seemed to think this drawing room needed updating.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33In 1884, he installed this gilded, embossed leather,
0:37:33 > 0:37:35imported from Japan.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39He wasn't a prolific spender - he only just bought enough.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41And I mean just enough.
0:37:41 > 0:37:45He had it carefully installed around all the pictures and mirrors.
0:37:45 > 0:37:47I can show you.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48If I do this...
0:37:50 > 0:37:53Look at that. Underneath, some William Morris wallpaper.
0:37:53 > 0:37:57The Larkspur design, pasted up in 1871.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03The occasional whim of fashion aside,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06Morris's designs won over the artistic middle classes.
0:38:07 > 0:38:11But despite the desire of Morris and other wallpaper designers to
0:38:11 > 0:38:13improve the aesthetic health of the nation,
0:38:13 > 0:38:17many people were more worried about how wallpaper might affect
0:38:17 > 0:38:19their physical health.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26Manufacturers had been experimenting with new chemical dyes
0:38:26 > 0:38:28and pigments, which could be rather frightening.
0:38:28 > 0:38:31Something the paper conservator Susan Catcher
0:38:31 > 0:38:33still has to worry about.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43- I presume I can get a little closer now?- I presume you can.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Let me just take this off.
0:38:45 > 0:38:48Was something quite dangerous going on there?
0:38:48 > 0:38:51The green on this wallpaper contains arsenic
0:38:51 > 0:38:55and so, consequently, it's a known carcinogen,
0:38:55 > 0:38:58and because this has had to be humidified
0:38:58 > 0:39:02for me to be able to consolidate it, of course, we've had the vapour.
0:39:02 > 0:39:05There was a certain amount of public outrage
0:39:05 > 0:39:07in the 1850s and '60s.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09People assumed they were going to die
0:39:09 > 0:39:12if they put this wallpaper on the wall.
0:39:12 > 0:39:15I don't think you'd drop dead. Not immediately.
0:39:15 > 0:39:17It took a little longer than that.
0:39:17 > 0:39:21There has to be other conditions involved,
0:39:21 > 0:39:23dampness being one.
0:39:23 > 0:39:28And then the damp allowed a mould to feed off the wallpaper paste
0:39:28 > 0:39:30that was actually holding the wallpaper up.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34- That, in conjunction... - Caused the gases to escape.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36..caused the gases to vaporise, yeah.
0:39:36 > 0:39:41By the time we got to about 1870, the British Medical Journal was
0:39:41 > 0:39:44already highlighting the fact that there were problems
0:39:44 > 0:39:48to do with arsenic coming out of wallpaper and killing children.
0:39:48 > 0:39:51- Because it was in their nurseries. - Green was a very popular colour.
0:39:51 > 0:39:54It was bright, it didn't define gender
0:39:54 > 0:39:56and the colour was beautiful.
0:39:56 > 0:40:00- Beautiful emerald green. - Vibrant.- Very vibrant.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02- Very strong.- Still is today.
0:40:02 > 0:40:06Yes, and that was the beauty of the pigment.
0:40:06 > 0:40:10It was very, very stable. Arsenic green is a very stable pigment
0:40:10 > 0:40:12- until it starts getting mould and damp.- Yes!
0:40:12 > 0:40:14And then it doesn't become so stable!
0:40:14 > 0:40:18- You have the famous story about Napoleon Bonaparte.- Exactly.
0:40:18 > 0:40:21He died of stomach cancer.
0:40:21 > 0:40:24- But...- It was assumed it was the green wallpaper.
0:40:24 > 0:40:27- It was very damp.- Yes, it was.
0:40:27 > 0:40:32I'm sure that they found mould as well. Maybe that was made worse.
0:40:32 > 0:40:37But even today, as you can see, we're having to treat it.
0:40:37 > 0:40:40What happens to this? That's being sealed once again?
0:40:40 > 0:40:45It's not being sealed. It's because the pigment is very, very flaky
0:40:45 > 0:40:48and rather than losing it, because that's what will happen...
0:40:48 > 0:40:51- This is fixing it down. - This is fixing it down, yes.
0:40:51 > 0:40:54The droplets are just going under the flakes a little bit
0:40:54 > 0:40:57and just holding it down.
0:40:57 > 0:41:00I don't want to lose what we've... We've already lost quite a lot.
0:41:00 > 0:41:05So did the manufacturers start to advertise arsenic-free wallpaper?
0:41:05 > 0:41:08William Morris did. Yes, he did.
0:41:08 > 0:41:11I think he was jumping a bit on the bandwagon as well.
0:41:11 > 0:41:15But we have tested his arsenic-free wallpapers and I have to say,
0:41:15 > 0:41:19they are, but I don't know whether all his competitors' wallpapers
0:41:19 > 0:41:21can be said to be arsenic-free.
0:41:21 > 0:41:24Even when it was arsenic-free,
0:41:24 > 0:41:27wallpaper was losing its cosy reputation.
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Once seen as the only way to a clean and fresh house,
0:41:29 > 0:41:32wallpaper was becoming suspect.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35A magnet for dirt, insects, mould,
0:41:35 > 0:41:38even infection.
0:41:40 > 0:41:43What people wanted was washable wallpaper,
0:41:43 > 0:41:47and, in the 1870s, the introduction of oil-based printing inks
0:41:47 > 0:41:49made this a reality.
0:41:49 > 0:41:52Christine Woods has made a special study
0:41:52 > 0:41:55of these so-called sanitary wallpapers.
0:41:56 > 0:42:02Well, this is one of five wallpaper pattern books that were discovered
0:42:02 > 0:42:05in the attic of a house in Leeds.
0:42:05 > 0:42:09This book dates from 1895 and yet it's rare
0:42:09 > 0:42:13and, as you can see, falling to pieces.
0:42:13 > 0:42:18And on the top we have a sanitary wallpaper.
0:42:18 > 0:42:22And the interesting thing about them is that
0:42:22 > 0:42:25the design is not made up of solid colour.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29The rollers are different to the rollers
0:42:29 > 0:42:32used on a normal machine-printing machine.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36And they have an etched design.
0:42:36 > 0:42:40The design is made up of tiny, tiny etched holes
0:42:40 > 0:42:44so the colour goes into the holes - sucked into the holes -
0:42:44 > 0:42:48and then it's transferred on to the paper.
0:42:48 > 0:42:52But however much you put your holes close together,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55you're never going to have a completely solid colour,
0:42:55 > 0:42:59it's going to be made up of tiny, tiny dots.
0:42:59 > 0:43:04I think a lot of authorities on design felt they were rather dull,
0:43:04 > 0:43:06rather dreary.
0:43:06 > 0:43:10But, quite often, manufacturers who criticised them
0:43:10 > 0:43:14were actually producing them, and producing them in their hundreds
0:43:14 > 0:43:16because, of course, they were bread and butter -
0:43:16 > 0:43:19they were keeping the industry going.
0:43:19 > 0:43:24And I think they are wonderful. Some of the drawing is just beautiful.
0:43:24 > 0:43:27I think we have to just bring them to the fore a bit.
0:43:27 > 0:43:29I think they've been neglected.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34But some problems couldn't be cleaned away.
0:43:34 > 0:43:38Late 19th century writers worried that wallpaper
0:43:38 > 0:43:40might also send you mad.
0:43:40 > 0:43:42With the range of patterns available,
0:43:42 > 0:43:46like this Victorian imitation marble, it's perhaps not surprising.
0:43:46 > 0:43:49Mrs Beeton even specified that that in bedrooms,
0:43:49 > 0:43:51certain patterns should be avoided.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55Ones that might allow an invalid to imagine monsters and demons.
0:43:57 > 0:44:00Despite all this, wallpaper was everywhere.
0:44:00 > 0:44:05As the 20th century dawned, this produced a reaction.
0:44:05 > 0:44:08The Oxford English Dictionary could soon include
0:44:08 > 0:44:10another meaning for wallpaper.
0:44:10 > 0:44:13A distasteful background,
0:44:13 > 0:44:16from repetitive music to pointless images.
0:44:16 > 0:44:20And for the first time, wallpaper's dominance was threatened
0:44:20 > 0:44:21by paint.
0:44:21 > 0:44:25A new generation of architects didn't like patterned walls.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27In fact, they despised them.
0:44:27 > 0:44:31What they wanted was the purity of plain, white painted walls.
0:44:32 > 0:44:36The modernist architect Le Corbusier denounced patterned walls
0:44:36 > 0:44:40as encouraging "accretions of dead things from the past"
0:44:40 > 0:44:42that were "intolerable" and "staining".
0:44:44 > 0:44:49So, in the 1930s, the design elite reached not for expensive wallpaper
0:44:49 > 0:44:51but for the paintbrush.
0:44:52 > 0:44:55To make matters even worse,
0:44:55 > 0:45:00the Second World War put a stop to wallpaper manufacture entirely.
0:45:00 > 0:45:03People were even encouraged to donate their wallpaper
0:45:03 > 0:45:05to the war effort.
0:45:05 > 0:45:07'Every scrap of paper that you put out for salvage
0:45:07 > 0:45:09'helps to hang the paper-hanger.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12'When it's been made into shell cases, gear wheels,
0:45:12 > 0:45:15'aeroplane parts, cartridge wads and other articles of war.'
0:45:15 > 0:45:18'So don't just bring out the paper you see lying about,
0:45:18 > 0:45:19'ransack your house.
0:45:19 > 0:45:23'Paper can help to hang the paper-hanger.'
0:45:27 > 0:45:31But after the war, wallpaper came back with a vengeance.
0:45:31 > 0:45:35It was partly thanks to the introduction of screen printing,
0:45:35 > 0:45:38forcing ink through a stencil on fine-woven mesh.
0:45:40 > 0:45:45New techniques had a big effect on wallpaper in the 1950s.
0:45:45 > 0:45:48Screen printing set-ups like this one meant that wallpaper could be
0:45:48 > 0:45:50printed in huge repeats.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55And because making a screen is considerably cheaper than carving a set of rollers,
0:45:55 > 0:45:58you could have short print runs with striking avant garde designs.
0:45:59 > 0:46:03Wallpaper became fashionable again, shaking off the disapproval
0:46:03 > 0:46:05of the modernists.
0:46:05 > 0:46:09One of the most innovative ranges in the period was called Palladio,
0:46:09 > 0:46:14a hugely influential set of screen printed designs aimed at architects
0:46:14 > 0:46:16and interior designers.
0:46:16 > 0:46:18Many of the Palladio papers
0:46:18 > 0:46:21were designed by people
0:46:21 > 0:46:23who were new to wallpaper design.
0:46:23 > 0:46:27They were often artists or illustrators or designers in some other field.
0:46:27 > 0:46:32This was one of the key ways in which the trade revitalised
0:46:32 > 0:46:36their business, by introducing new ideas and new blood.
0:46:37 > 0:46:42This pattern, I think, is very distinctively 1950s.
0:46:42 > 0:46:46It's called Malaga, and this is the time when people are starting to go,
0:46:46 > 0:46:49certainly the middle classes, are starting to go places like Spain
0:46:49 > 0:46:51for their holidays.
0:46:51 > 0:46:54They are reading Elizabeth David's cookery books.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57Here's another paper inspired by holidays.
0:46:57 > 0:47:00This one is called Bistro.
0:47:02 > 0:47:05As we've seen, so many wallpapers took their inspiration
0:47:05 > 0:47:10from textiles, but in the 1950s, that idea is being reinvented.
0:47:10 > 0:47:15You're getting an abstract pattern based on a woven textile.
0:47:15 > 0:47:18This particular pattern is actually called Weft.
0:47:18 > 0:47:20This is Colonnade.
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Again, it's been so much reproduced in books,
0:47:24 > 0:47:27it's hard to know whether it was actually popular at the time
0:47:27 > 0:47:30or whether everyone just loves it ever since.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37Designs by the likes of Lucienne Day and John Minton
0:47:37 > 0:47:40set the tone for an art-led transformation of wallpaper.
0:47:43 > 0:47:46By the end of the 1950s, consumers were more and more drawn
0:47:46 > 0:47:50to modern design, and the wallpaper trade was booming.
0:47:55 > 0:47:57There's one place where you can really get
0:47:57 > 0:48:01a sense of the wallpapers ordinary buyers were choosing.
0:48:01 > 0:48:03This hardware shop in East London
0:48:03 > 0:48:06has been selling wallpaper since the Edwardian era.
0:48:06 > 0:48:09After the paper shortages of World War II,
0:48:09 > 0:48:15the owners started to hoard wallpaper, and it became a habit.
0:48:15 > 0:48:20Today, it's an Aladdin's cave of old wallpaper from the post-war years.
0:48:22 > 0:48:26Forward-looking design in wallpaper continued right into the 1960s,
0:48:26 > 0:48:29influenced by youth culture and psychedelia.
0:48:29 > 0:48:32Here is a very good example of the patterns you'd find
0:48:32 > 0:48:35in the 1960s. Look at that.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39Bright, happy colours. That really is the swinging sixties.
0:48:42 > 0:48:47New techniques in printing allowed almost photographic imitations
0:48:47 > 0:48:48of stone and wood.
0:48:48 > 0:48:51Some good examples are something like this. Look at that.
0:48:51 > 0:48:54Here's a roll of cork.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Instead of putting cork tiles on the wall,
0:48:56 > 0:49:00you could have a roll of paper imitating cork tiles.
0:49:00 > 0:49:04Manufacturers also came up with the ultimate washable papers,
0:49:04 > 0:49:10vinyl, and also we've got metallic foil-backed papers.
0:49:10 > 0:49:12Look at that. Good quality.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15That would look good on the wall today. That's an expensive paper.
0:49:15 > 0:49:18A self-adhesive one as well.
0:49:20 > 0:49:24But in the 1970s, with the wallpaper industry at its very height,
0:49:24 > 0:49:28living spaces were dominated with bold geometric patterns
0:49:28 > 0:49:31like this one.
0:49:31 > 0:49:36I can remember my parents' dining room with patterns like that.
0:49:36 > 0:49:39Sitting round the G-Plan furniture.
0:49:39 > 0:49:41Very happy days.
0:49:41 > 0:49:46This, this is exactly what we had in our bathroom! Look at that!
0:49:46 > 0:49:49We even had a matching bath suite as well.
0:49:49 > 0:49:51It was called "Sun King Yellow."
0:49:51 > 0:49:55It was disgusting, but I absolutely loved that wallpaper
0:49:55 > 0:49:58in our loo and our bathroom. That was my mum and dad being bold.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06Not that this was to everyone's taste.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08A long way from the mass-produced brightness,
0:50:08 > 0:50:11the British tradition of handmade wallpapers had lingered on.
0:50:11 > 0:50:15Before the war, artist Edward Bawden had been its leading champion.
0:50:16 > 0:50:19Now there was a revival of interest in craft.
0:50:19 > 0:50:21William Morris made a comeback
0:50:21 > 0:50:23and designer-makers created new work.
0:50:25 > 0:50:29Marthe Armitage has been hand-printing her wallpaper designs
0:50:29 > 0:50:31from lino cuts since the 1960s.
0:50:32 > 0:50:35It's magical seeing the whole process come alive
0:50:35 > 0:50:37in a matter of seconds.
0:50:37 > 0:50:39This is the fascination about printing.
0:50:39 > 0:50:43The colour goes down all at once.
0:50:43 > 0:50:46If you're painting, of course, it's bit by bit,
0:50:46 > 0:50:50but with printing, there's something magical about it.
0:50:50 > 0:50:54Yeah. Seeing that process evolve, just instantly like that.
0:50:54 > 0:50:56How many rolls of paper could you print a day?
0:50:56 > 0:51:02A roll is ten metres and we can't really print more than six
0:51:02 > 0:51:03- in a day.- Six rolls.
0:51:03 > 0:51:05It's still a lot of work.
0:51:08 > 0:51:12- Do you always use lino? - Always use lino, yes.
0:51:12 > 0:51:16The only other thing you could do for block printing is wood blocks.
0:51:16 > 0:51:20- But you find it easier to cut in lino.- Exactly.
0:51:21 > 0:51:23You're surrounded by all your work here,
0:51:23 > 0:51:26and I can see you go for soft, muted tones.
0:51:26 > 0:51:28I don't like bright colours.
0:51:28 > 0:51:32I do think wallpaper is a background, should be a background.
0:51:32 > 0:51:36When did the interest in wallpaper start with you?
0:51:36 > 0:51:40We needed some wallpaper in our house,
0:51:40 > 0:51:43it was scruffy.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46We couldn't afford wallpaper and so I suddenly thought,
0:51:46 > 0:51:49I'd done a bit of lino cutting at school.
0:51:49 > 0:51:52I thought if you made a nice, big block,
0:51:52 > 0:51:55you could print your own paper.
0:51:55 > 0:51:58- Would you like to see the first one I did?- Oh, yes, please.
0:52:07 > 0:52:10And that's the very first example?
0:52:10 > 0:52:13So how did you go about doing that?
0:52:13 > 0:52:17I didn't think very hard about the size of the block.
0:52:17 > 0:52:21I had done a drawing and then I put it onto the lino.
0:52:21 > 0:52:25Then I printed it on the floor, put the paper on the floor,
0:52:25 > 0:52:27and then that block on top,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30and stood on the block to get the pressure
0:52:30 > 0:52:32and it developed from there.
0:52:32 > 0:52:34I mean, you've inspired me to have a go.
0:52:34 > 0:52:36I'd like to have a go at turning the handle.
0:52:36 > 0:52:39- OK.- There might be a few imperfections coming up.
0:52:39 > 0:52:43You ink up and I'll do this bit.
0:53:07 > 0:53:11- Just gently? - Gently and don't park anywhere.
0:53:11 > 0:53:14- OK, just go right to the end?- Yes.
0:53:14 > 0:53:18I like that word, "park."
0:53:18 > 0:53:20Oh...
0:53:27 > 0:53:30How did we do?
0:53:32 > 0:53:33That's not too bad, is it?
0:53:33 > 0:53:35That's quite good. Very good.
0:53:35 > 0:53:38Do you regard that as a work of art, because I do?
0:53:38 > 0:53:42I don't know... What is art?
0:53:42 > 0:53:44- That's art for a start. - I suppose it is.
0:53:46 > 0:53:50Meanwhile, the world of commercial wallpaper started
0:53:50 > 0:53:53to lose its way in the last years of the 20th century.
0:53:53 > 0:53:58In the 1990s, plain walls would finally conquer the ordinary home.
0:53:58 > 0:54:02Advertisers made very clear the prevailing view of flowery wallpaper
0:54:02 > 0:54:05as those feisty '90s ladies were encouraged
0:54:05 > 0:54:08to "chuck out their chintz."
0:54:18 > 0:54:21But then wallpaper started sneaking back,
0:54:21 > 0:54:25with special statement designs for single walls.
0:54:25 > 0:54:27Feature wallpaper.
0:54:27 > 0:54:30Today, in the 21st century, things are once again
0:54:30 > 0:54:32going wallpaper's way.
0:54:32 > 0:54:35Well, it seems wallpaper has made a bit of a comeback.
0:54:35 > 0:54:37It's been on the rise for the last ten years,
0:54:37 > 0:54:40starting with one feature wall in the room
0:54:40 > 0:54:42and then spreading to the rest of the walls.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46And technology is changing too.
0:54:46 > 0:54:49There's a sort of revolution going on.
0:54:49 > 0:54:53A minor revolution, maybe. It's too soon to say.
0:54:53 > 0:54:55Similar to that which happened in the 19th century
0:54:55 > 0:54:58with the introduction of mechanisation.
0:54:59 > 0:55:03What we have now is the introduction of digital.
0:55:07 > 0:55:09Digital printing means new designers
0:55:09 > 0:55:12can produce their wallpaper instantly.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14No rollers, no blocks, no screens required,
0:55:14 > 0:55:17giving a new freedom to experiment.
0:55:17 > 0:55:19It allows designers like Paul Simmons
0:55:19 > 0:55:22to create surprising new wallpapers.
0:55:22 > 0:55:24What was the inspiration behind this?
0:55:24 > 0:55:26One of the things that we're known for
0:55:26 > 0:55:29is our reinterpretation of the old Toile de Jouy.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31They're late 18th-century textiles
0:55:31 > 0:55:35with these digest interpretations of different cities,
0:55:35 > 0:55:37this one being London, obviously.
0:55:37 > 0:55:41We're really telling a story about the city as it is right now.
0:55:41 > 0:55:45We've got the Shard and we've got the Gherkin here.
0:55:45 > 0:55:48We've got some of the rioting that happened last summer.
0:55:48 > 0:55:50Is this a popular one?
0:55:50 > 0:55:55You know, it actually is, apart from in children's bedrooms.
0:55:55 > 0:55:58It's a kind of X-rated paper. X-rated toile.
0:55:58 > 0:56:00What about tastes?
0:56:00 > 0:56:03What's particularly the most popular here?
0:56:03 > 0:56:06What do people focus on? They gravitate towards something, I would imagine.
0:56:06 > 0:56:10Actually, this one's been really popular.
0:56:10 > 0:56:13This sort of design, it's got a classic feel.
0:56:13 > 0:56:16There's a lot of work that's gone into it,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19and I think there's something rewarding about looking at things
0:56:19 > 0:56:22that do have a lot of time that's been spent on it.
0:56:22 > 0:56:26There's layers of different repeats in the design
0:56:26 > 0:56:31that builds it up and makes it have that really rich feel.
0:56:31 > 0:56:33How much would that retail at?
0:56:33 > 0:56:36This would retail at £300 a roll.
0:56:36 > 0:56:41For your average wall, you'd probably need about three rolls.
0:56:41 > 0:56:45Actually, when you think about it, if you buy a painting,
0:56:45 > 0:56:48you're not going to get much change out of...
0:56:48 > 0:56:51I don't know. How much are paintings these days?
0:56:51 > 0:56:55I can see that going in most people's houses.
0:56:55 > 0:56:56This, on the other hand...
0:56:56 > 0:57:01This is sort of country pile meets bedsit.
0:57:01 > 0:57:04- You have this... - That's quite organic, though.
0:57:04 > 0:57:07It's quite organic but it's based on stains and, you know...
0:57:07 > 0:57:11- Something kind of... - The stains of a bedsit.
0:57:11 > 0:57:16The stains of a bedsit but trying to make it really rich as well.
0:57:16 > 0:57:19What does the future hold?
0:57:19 > 0:57:22In terms of technology, the quality of digital now
0:57:22 > 0:57:23is really changing things.
0:57:23 > 0:57:28But I think it's going to be a combination of digital and handprint.
0:57:28 > 0:57:31There's loads of things that digital still can't do.
0:57:31 > 0:57:34You can't print varnishes, you can't print metallics.
0:57:34 > 0:57:39There's a quality of the feeling, the actual ink on the paper as well with handprint.
0:57:39 > 0:57:43I think the future's going to be mixing those things together,
0:57:43 > 0:57:44high and low tech,
0:57:44 > 0:57:49and I think that's where the most interesting things are going to be happening.
0:57:49 > 0:57:52- So the future's bright. - Yeah.- Literally.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57There's a lot of exciting new wallpaper out there,
0:57:57 > 0:58:00drawing on every possible printing technique.
0:58:00 > 0:58:06And from independent boutiques to DIY superstores, the choice is huge.
0:58:06 > 0:58:09Well, it's clear that wallpaper is enjoying a revival.
0:58:09 > 0:58:11I know we've been here before.
0:58:11 > 0:58:15Wallpaper has had its ups and downs, but this time it feels different.
0:58:15 > 0:58:19There's a confidence about our choice today.
0:58:19 > 0:58:21We're not so hung up about the dos and the don'ts
0:58:21 > 0:58:23and the rigid rules of style.
0:58:23 > 0:58:27It doesn't matter - we can mix and match.
0:58:27 > 0:58:30Historical designs from the past with new innovations,
0:58:30 > 0:58:32handmade with digital.
0:58:32 > 0:58:35For me, wallpaper is here to stay for a lot longer.
0:58:51 > 0:58:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd